Rapper Fat Joe has been sentenced to four months behind bars after pleading guilty to two counts of tax evasion.

The Lean Back hitmaker, who was accused of owing almost $718,038 (£463,250) in back taxes to the U.S. government, pleaded guilty to two counts of tax evasion in December (12), and, on Monday (24Jun13), he was ordered to surrender to prison authorities by 26 August (13).

During his sentencing at a federal court in Newark, New Jersey, the star was also ordered to pay a $15,000 (£9,677) fine, according to Tmz.com.

The rapper, real name Joseph Cartagena, addressed his tax issues in an interview last month (May13), suggesting his choice of accountants was the reason for his financial downfall.

He told RapFix Live, "You gotta understand we hire guys who are supposed (sic) have Harvard degrees to take care of us (stars).

"All the time you see artists, the first thing they did to you when you caught money was introduce you to a bunch of fancy guys with bow ties who are gonna take care of your money and all that and then you always see an artist or a celebrity or somebody like that goin' down for it and these guys never go down for it."